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The Senate Education Committee held its last interim committee hearing in mid-October to review its remaining interim charges. The first part of the hearing was devoted to the issue of dropouts, with committee members expressing concern about the lack of statewide systematic approaches to reducing dropouts, particularly targeting minority students who’ve had traditionally higher dropout rates. Commissioner of Education Robert Scott testified that much of the focus in the past has been on what the appropriate way to measure dropouts is rather than how to stem the tide of dropouts, but now that the U.S. Dept. of Education (USDE) has required all states to adopt the same uniform graduation rate by the year 2012, a rate which Texas has been using for reporting purposes since 1996, that issue should be more or less resolved. Commissioner Scott noted that the reason for so much focus on how to measure dropouts is that different measures yield different information. For example, Texas uses both an annual dropout rate and a longitudinal dropout rate in its state accountability system. Committee Chair Florence Shapiro stated that for the legislature’s purpose, the rate they want to be informed about is the one required by USDE.
As for dropout prevention/recovery practices, the Commissioner pointed to strategies such as virtual learning opportunities, flexible scheduling offered through the Texas High School Project, and early college high school programs. However, given the newness of these programs, committee member Senator Royce West (D-Dallas) pressed the commissioner about what models we have in Texas that show promise for stemming dropout rates of minority youth, meaning there’s more than one year’s worth of evidence showing success. The Commissioner promised to provide the committee with a list of those programs.
The Commissioner remarked that the issues impacting dropouts are much more far-reaching than what happens in school – that the state is using a limited amount of school funding to try to counteract the giant influences of poverty and other factors on dropouts. Senator West urged that the state look at using a “SWAT team” approach, by using a coalition of community and health organizations and schools to target particular areas of the state that have the highest dropout rates. Another member of the committee, Senator Steve Ogden (R-Bryan), said that he felt that the state needed to find out from parents of dropouts what they need from the state in order to keep their child in school. Other committee members pointed out that that approach will only work if the parents are present, pointing out numerous examples of absent or incarcerated parents. Senator Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio) suggested that instead of looking at the solution purely from an education perspective, the legislature might be better served to consider investing in other parts of the state budget for services that help stem the tide of dropouts, such as in the Health and Human Services area.
The Committee also reviewed an interim charge related to Career and Technology education, hearing from a panel of educators from the Lubbock Martin Advanced Technology Center. The panel testified about the fact that the career and technology courses offered by their program were rigorous and prepared all students for college and the workforce; however, more flexibility in the current 4X4 graduation requirements would help, such as allowing an applied math career and technology course to count for the 4th credit of math. (TCTA testified about this issue at an earlier hearing)
A coalition of industry associations that included the Association of Electric Companies of Texas, the Texas Association of Builders and Contractors, the Texas Chemical Council and the Texas Association of Manufacturers, testified about the need for more flexibility in the 4X4 curriculum as well, pointing out that many of their workforce needs are for jobs that don’t require a postsecondary degree.
Web posted: 10/20/08
